Hacker Musings and OCD

ICRPG: nearly perfect

So I picked up ICRPG a while ago, but haven’t had the time to really sit down and digest it. I’m pretty peeved I didn’t, because it’s amazing.

ICRPG can be thought of as 3 things:

a broad methodology for tabletop gaming (“the index card method”)

a set of rules, suited to but not required for, the above

a bunch of actual gaming (tabletop and online) assets for #1

The rules itself are solid: a roll-over, d20, bonus-based minimalist system. If you’re used to a system like 5E or Pathfinder, you’re going to be a little lost – ICRPG has very little in terms of rules, preferring to let the basic mechanics and group decisions drive everything.

It also assumes you have a fair amount of existing material to adapt; there are plenty of good spell lists in 5E, after all.

Players/groups who expect great detail are going to be disappointed: there’s a basic “everything does the same damage” system, for example (shared by the brilliant WFRP). I consider it a feature, but some will see a bug.

The “index card method” is another great idea. In brief, it tries to bridge the gap between highly detailed tactical play and purely abstract theatre-of-the-mind. In my opinion it succeeds perfectly. Perfect foot-by-foot maneuvering and range calculation slows down gameplay in any group that’s not already committed to wargaming.

You can break down a large area into “sectors”, you can represent groups occupying said sectors, and still have “champions” and individuals occupying space. It works really well!

The art design and quality of the materials is excellent. I can see the argument that the art style may not be your thing – it’s kind of abstract – but I dig it and I think it’s really, really good value for the money. (If you want extremely detailed and specifically designed art, it’s going to cost you!)